<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Mother's Day by kitkatt0430</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24853870">Mother's Day</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatt0430/pseuds/kitkatt0430'>kitkatt0430</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Iris West Appreciation Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Flash (TV 2014)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cecile is a good mom, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Francine West was an awful mother, Gen, Iris discussing her abandonment issues, Minor Barry Allen/Iris West, Minor Cecile Horton/Joe West, Mother's Day, Mother-Daughter Relationship, girls day out</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-23</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 00:33:36</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,148</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24853870</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitkatt0430/pseuds/kitkatt0430</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Iris insists on taking Cecile out shopping for Mother's Day and the two bond over cute skirts, fruit smoothies, and past relationships gone wrong.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Cecile Horton &amp; Iris West</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Iris West Appreciation Week 2020 [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1797967</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>22</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Mother's Day</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They left Jenna with Joe and Barry that morning before heading out to the shopping mall.  "I want to treat you to a girl's day out, for Mother's Day," was what Iris had told Cecile the night before and she'd cherished the touched expression on the former DA's face.</p><p>Iris hadn't done anything with Cecile for Mother's Day the year before.  It was too soon after Nora's death and the day had only served as a reminder of what Iris had lost.  The year before that Iris hadn't even remembered when Mother's Day was until Father's Day rolled around and she realized she'd missed it; though it didn't help that Iris hadn't felt close enough to Cecile to think of her as a parent yet.  But this year was different.</p><p>Cecile was the mother of Iris' beloved sister, a trusted confidant, and the first real mom-influence Iris had in her life since Francine West had walked out on her as a little girl.  She'd been an amazing source of support over the years, offering herself as someone Iris could discuss her thoughts with on life decisions before she made them.  Her decision to quit the Picture News, to restart her blog, to create her own newspaper... Cecile had been Iris' loudest cheerleader.  She made Iris feel seen and loved in a way Barry and Joe couldn't.  They filled niches in her life and made Iris feel loved too, but Cecile had filled a hole in Iris she hadn't even known was there.</p><p>So today was Iris' way of showing her appreciation.</p><p>The two of them had spent the morning wandering through clothing stores, trying on cute clothes.  Iris bought Cecile a flowery dress for her days off of work and a yellow blouse and blue-gray pencil skirt that would make her look sharp in court.  Cecile had protested, but between the sale the store was having and the discount Iris got in her email, the cost of the clothes was about a third each and Cecile had accepted her presents with grace.  She'd insisted on buying their lunch, though, when they stopped at the mall food court.  </p><p>Two freshly made sandwiches and blueberry 'frulattes' later and they started looking over the listings for movies at the mall theater that afternoon to see if any of them were appealing.</p><p>"You know..." Iris trailed off for a moment before finishing her thought, "I used to imagine getting to do stuff like this.  In high school.  I'd hear other girls talking about how embarrassing it was to go shopping with their moms, but I'd get kind of... jealous I guess.  It felt like they were taking it all for granted."</p><p>"Iris..." Cecile smiled wistfully and took her hand, no doubt feeling for herself the tangled up knot in Iris' chest.  "Would you like to talk about it?"</p><p>She did.  She really, really did.  "I used to... I had this image of who Francine would have been, if she hadn't died.  The perfect mom.  Who'd fuss over me in front of my friends so I could complain like they did, but secretly I loved it.  Who took me shopping for my prom dress and didn't veto all the dresses I liked for being too revealing like dad did.  Who'd hug Barry when he was missing his mom and... basically I had this perfect, untouchable ideal.  And then... and then my real mom showed up and shattered that perfect, safe dream.  I was so angry and..."</p><p>"You were grieving for the loss of should have been yours, could have been if she hadn't left," Cecile filled in when Iris hesitated too long.</p><p>Nodding, Iris took a deep breath.  Squeezed Cecile's hand.  "She left dad.  She left me.  For drugs.  And then I found out about Wally.  And I'm still so angry that she kept him from us and because... I was her little girl.  Why wasn't I enough of a reason to choose to stay clean?"  Why had it taken Wally's existence for Francine to clean up her act?</p><p>And there were probably plenty of reasons.  Francine had said it herself, that she'd regretted leaving, but been too proud to go back.  Wally had been her second chance to get things right.  It wasn't that Iris hadn't been enough... but it sure as hell felt that way.</p><p>"I told her, before she died, that I forgave her.  But I didn't and I don't know if I ever can."  Iris wiped at her eyes and the tears gathering there.</p><p>"My former husband did something pretty similar.  But alcohol was his drug of choice," Cecile said quietly.  "Joannie was pretty young and I thought at first he'd come back.  And then I got the divorce papers.  Three years later, I saw him.  Didn't say anything, but... he had a baby girl in his arms and a new wife.  I honestly don't know what I would have said if I hadn't felt rooted to the ground.  I get angry sometimes, when I think about all the times he should have been there for Joannie and I just... I hope he did right by that other little girl.  As angry as it makes me that he wasn't there all the times Joannie could have used a second parent..."</p><p>"I'm so sorry," Iris squeezed her hand again.  </p><p>"One of the things that drew me to your dad was how much he loved his children."  Cecile smiled fondly, love in her eyes; Iris wondered if she looked like that when she talked about Barry.</p><p>"Do you think you two will ever get married?" The question popped out of Iris' mouth before she could think better of it.  "Sorry, that's... probably too personal."</p><p>"It's fine, Iris.  I think... we might, one day.  If only for the tax benefits."  Cecile's mouth quirked with amusement at the joke.  "Joe and I have shown our commitment to each other in other ways and right now that's enough for the two of us.  I think maybe marriage still feels too tied up in the hurt our former spouses caused us and it'll be a while yet before its something we're ready to start seriously discussing the possibility of getting engaged and married."</p><p>"Well... I call dibs on being a bridesmaid if you two do get married.  I'll be nice enough not to fight Joannie for Maid of Honor."  Iris grinned as Cecile laughed.  "'Cause I'd totally win if I did."</p><p>They giggled together and Cecile defended her absent daughter's scrappiness amid the laughter.  They reluctantly let their clasped hands fall apart and gathered their trash to throw away.</p><p>Iris wasn't quite ready to ask yet, but perhaps next Mother's Day she'd find out if Cecile was okay with Iris calling her 'mom' sometimes.  Because honestly?  Cecile was the mother Iris had been daydreaming about all those years ago, but better.  Because Cecile was real.</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>